PROMOTING ENGLISH LEARNERS’ PRONUNCIATION OF INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES-S AND -ES THROUGH JAZZ 13 CHANTS

Abstract

This paper aims at sharing the writers‘ experiences in tackling
the English learners‘ problems in pronouncing the inflectional suffixes–s
and –es by means of a type of media, called ―Jazz Chants‖. These are
Carolyn Graham's snappy, upbeat chants and poems that use jazz rhythms
to illustrate the natural stress and intonation patterns of conversational
American English. Based on the observations during pronunciation
practice classes towards the performances in pronouncing the inflectional
suffixes -s and -es of the English learners or students in the first semester
of the English Language Education Department of the Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education in Universitas PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya, it turns
out that employing Jazz Chants has made it easier for the learners to be
aware of the different ways of pronouncing the inflectional suffixes –s
and–es(/s/, /z/, and /ɪz or əz/) in different type of the final sound of a word.
In other words, the learners‘ pronunciation of inflectional suffixes –s and
–es is promoted through the implementation of Jazz Chants during
pronunciation practices.